Neal Schon is one of the greatest guitar players of his generation – but there was one occasion back in the ’80s when even he felt intimidated after plugging in.
It happened in 1986, when Schon and keyboard player Jonathan Cain, both members of Journey, were collaborating with Michael Bolton on the singer’s album The Hunger.
This was to be a transitional album for Bolton, on which he moved on from the melodic hard rock of his two previous releases and embraced his love of soul music.
One of the key tracks on the album was a version of the Otis Redding classic (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, written by Redding with guitarist Steve Cropper. The song was among the last to be recorded by Redding before his death in a plane crash on 10 December 1967.
In the wake of this tragedy, (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay reached No.1 on the US chart in 1968, and No.3 in the UK.
![[Sittin' On] the Dock of the Bay - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Zu5chXCp1Ag/maxresdefault.jpg)
It was a brave choice for Michael Bolton to take on such a beloved song. And there was an unexpected challenge for Neal Schon when they came to record it.
In an interview with Classic Rock, Schon was asked if he had ever felt intimidated by another guitar player.
He replied with a laugh: “Maybe one time. I was working with Michael Bolton in the late ’80s at The Record Plant in Sausalito. We were recording his version of (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay. And right in the next room was Steve Cropper, who wrote the song with Otis Redding and played guitar on the original version. I’m going, ‘Shit!’ I was kind of nervous!”
Despite the pressure, Schon also decided to add something to the song that Cropper had not.
“I wanted to put in a guitar solo on that song because the original didn’t have one,” he said. “Usually, when I do solos they pop out – good, bad or indifferent. And the earlier they pop out, the better they feel.
“Even if there’s something wrong, they have more heart to them. And the more you work on them, you might clinically and technically get better, but lose a bit of the heart. And for me, I’ll always go with the heart and soul.”
Bolton’s version of (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay was also a big hit, reaching No.11 in the US. It was his second top 20 hit from The Hunger after the ballad That’s What Love Is All About, and was instrumental in his rise to major stardom.
Otis Redding’s widow Zelma said of Bolton’s version of the song: “It brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me so much of my husband that I know if he heard it, he would feel the same.”
Both Schon and Jonathan Cain featured alongside Bolton in the video for the song, and their involvement in The Hunger also extended to writing original material for the album.
The title track and another song, Wait On Love, were co-written by Cain and Bolton, while Schon gained a credit alongside Cain and Bolton for You’re All That I Need. All three of those tracks were produced by Cain.
Schon later admitted that Bolton was briefly considered as a replacement for Journey singer Steve Perry during this period – Perry having quit the band in 1987 after touring the album Raised On Radio.
But with the success of The Hunger and (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Michael Bolton’s path was set.
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